Neurosurgeon . . . and Mum!

Neurosurgeon . . . and Mum!
Kate Hardy

When Amy Rivers’ dreams of a family were shattered by her ex-fiancé, she dedicated herself to neurosurgery, where she’s kept her head—and her heart—ever since.Now, with her career in shreds, Amy needs a lifeline. She escapes to the one place she’s always called home—to find the new village doctor, Tom Ashby, and his motherless little daughter Perdy sharing her retreat.Amy tries to keep her longings locked up tight, but enchanted by the sad little girl…and captivated by Tom’s heart-melting smile…she finds her shattered dreams come flooding back. Life has been tough for all of them, but together can they make each other whole?

Praise for Kate Hardy:

‘THE CHILDREN’S DOCTOR’S SPECIAL PRO-POSAL is just as the title promises. Kate Hardy delivers a superb romance that resonates beautifully with the reader. Bravo, Ms Hardy!’

—bookilluminations.com

‘THE GREEK DOCTOR’S NEW-YEAR BABY is romantic storytelling at its best! Poignant, enjoyable and absolutely terrific, with THE GREEK DOCTOR’S NEW-YEAR BABY Kate Hardy proves once again that when it comes to romantic fiction she’s up there with the very best!’

—cataromance.com

‘SURRENDER TO THE PLAYBOY SHEIKH: I spent a lovely morning with this book, and I’d advise you to do likewise. Getit.You’ll love it. An unrestrained…Grade:A.’

—goodbadandunread.com

‘PLAYBOY BOSS, PREGNANCY OF PASSION: this story features a strong heroine who gains strength from her family and a hero who realises the importance of love and family before it’s too late. Add in their captivating romance and it makes for one great read.’

—RT Book Reviews

Tom turned round and smiled. ‘Hello, Amy. Let me introduce you. This is Perdy.’

Be polite, smile, but keep your distance, Amy told herself. It isn’t your job to fix this. ‘Hello, Perdy,’ she said, staying exactly where she was.

‘Hello, Miss Rivers,’ Perdy said dutifully.

That sounded so stuffy and formal. Completely not how Amy was. For a moment she was tempted to offer her own first name; then her common sense kicked in. Keep your distance. Formality would help her to do that. She gave the little girl a polite smile.

‘I’ll, um, let you get on,’ Amy said. ‘I just wanted to introduce myself—that was all. See you later.’ She fled for sanctuary.

Though not before she heard Perdy ask Tom, ‘Did she go because of me?’ And she could almost see the wobble in the little girl’s lower lip, the distress on her face.

‘No, honey, of course not. She’s just got things to do,’ Tom said.

Which made Amy feel even more horrible inside. She’d have to find some middle ground. Surely she could be kind to the little girl without taking down the barriers round her heart?

She’d make the effort later.

Just not right now, when the memories had come back to shred her heart all over again.

Neurosurgeon…And Mum!

By

Kate Hardy

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

KATE HARDY lives in Norwich, in the east of England, with her husband, two young children, one bouncy spaniel, and too many books to count! When she’s not busy writing romance or researching local history, she helps out at her children’s schools. She also loves cooking—spot the recipes sneaked into her books! (They’re also on her website, along with extracts and stories behind the books.) Writing for Mills & Boon has been a dream come true for Kate—something she wanted to do ever since she was twelve. She now writes Medical

romances and also writes for Modern Heat

. She says it’s the best of both worlds, because she gets to learn lots of new things when she’s researching the background to a book: add a touch of passion, drama and danger, a new gorgeous hero every time, and it’s the perfect job!

Kate’s always delighted to hear from readers, so do drop in to her website at www.katehardy.com

Recent titles by the same author:

Medical™ Romance

THE DOCTOR’S LOST-AND-FOUND BRIDE

FALLING FOR THE PLAYBOY MILLIONAIRE

(The Brides of Penhally Bay)

Modern Heat

GOOD GIRL OR GOLD-DIGGER?

TEMPORARY BOSS, PERMANENT MISTRESS

Dear Reader

I really enjoy second-chance stories—and in this case Amy, my heroine, needs a second chance at her career as well as at love. When life steamrollers over her, it’s natural for her to come home to the place where she was so happy as a child (which just so happens to be on the Norfolk coast—my own favourite place in the world). But when she ends up sharing a house with her uncle’s locum, she finds herself having to confront the distant past as well as her recent difficulties.

Tom also needs a second chance at love—with someone who’ll love him and be a real mother to his beloved daughter.

Perdy stole my heart (probably because she has much in common with my own beloved daughter at that age—beachcombing and baking are such fun). And getting them all to have a happy ending, as a family, was a real joy.

Add in a gorgeous dog, the history of medicine, a medical specialty that really fascinates me, and a house with a turret (my fantasy house!), and I think you can see why I found NEUROSURGEON…AND MUM! such a pleasure to write.

I’m always delighted to hear from readers, so do come and visit me at www.katehardy.com

With love

Kate Hardy

Chapter One

TOM finally found Perdy curled up in a chair with a book in the corner of the room; her face was wary, and she was clearly trying to be quiet and keep out of the way. Not for the first time, his heart burned in his chest. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Eloise should have been here beside him, making a proper family: the two of them and their precious daughter. And Perdy should have been a normal child, messy and laughing and seeing rainbows in every corner instead of shadows.

He clenched his jaw for a second, willing the anger to die down. Stop being an idiot, he told himself. You know it’s irrational, being angry with Eloise. Just stop blaming her for getting that tropical fever and dying.

But he couldn’t.

On my own, he thought, am I making a complete mess of bringing up Perdy? Eloise hadn’t exactly been a hands-on mother, but at least he’d been able to talk to her and come to a joint decision; on his own, he had nobody to bounce ideas off, nobody to warn him that he was doing the wrong thing.